Commentary: It is possible to have respect for others while enjoying the waters of the harbor

Two years ago, you could come and go from your slip, thru the entrance of the Harbor, walk the beach at the Lighthouse, etc. without any troubles at all.

Now, there are so many rental paddleboards and kayaks, it’s hard to get anywhere by boat in the harbor without running into hoards of them.

I don’t want you to think that having the rentals in the Harbor is a bad thing, I think it’s great. However, if your going to hand out bullets to gun owners at the shooting range, you’d better find out if they know how to use them. If they don’t, teach them or give them handout sheets that teach them.

The biggest rule of all should be no glassware on the beautiful sandy beach we have at the entrance to the Harbor.

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For the past 16 years, I go to that beach by boat every single day to work with my dog. My dog’s leash is me, and her shucker. She doesn’t bother people and will not run and play with your dog; she is responsive to my commands. This is definitely not the case with the hoards of dogs that are going to the beach that never used to on the rented paddleboards and kayaks.

You must share with these renters that they need to take there dog on a leash, or have full command over the dog. The next thing is to hand out poop bags. Burying the business in the sand is not cool.

I consider myself a self appointed guardian of the beach at the Lighthouse entrance. I’ve never been so fortunate as to have something like this available to me so close to my home. Gig Harbor is a great place for tourists to come to and enjoy what we get to live in year-round. Please advise your boat and paddleboard renters to respect the beach and waterway.

The people that live in Gig Harbor love the Harbor and especially the Lighthouse beach, which is only accessible by boat. Nobody wants the city to take control of its maintenance. Once this happens, there will be signs up, poop bag centers, rules, regulations, etc. It’s up to us that use it, to maintain it.

In the 16 years (and two dogs) I’ve been taking my family there, I’ve never witnessed so much broken glass from beer/wine bottles in prior years than this year. Earlier this summer, my dog ended up in the hospital because of a broken beer bottle. One of the pads on her front foot was sheared off by a broken beer bottle. Fifteen hundred dollars and a month of rehab later, she is back walking with me on the beach.

The problem is, every day, I load a full bag up with garbage and broken bottles from the day before. I watch as the paddleboarders and kayakers paddling toward the beach, all of them carrying backpacks, or worse yet, coolers on their boards.

It is the paddleboard, kayak and boat rental community’s responsibility to make sure customers are aware of the rules of the waterway. They do not have the right of way — common sense does. Blocking the entrance to the harbor with a group of five or six boards is not safe, and honestly, is going to get someone hurt.

I am not the only steward of our Lighthouse beach. I witness many others pitching in as well. But it’s up to our community to make sure we find a way to keep this beach a place that everyone can enjoy.

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